The Pittsburgh Steelers have now wrapped up their Friday practice as they prepare to take on the Tennessee Titans in their Sunday season opener at Heinz Field and the final injury report for the week has now been released.

Rookie running back Le’Veon Bell (foot) did not practice again on Friday and has long been ruled out for the game Sunday. Isaac Redman will get the start at running back.

Tight end Heath Miller (knee) remains limited as he is now in the final stages of his rehab after being removed from the PUP list last weekend. Miller is officially listed as doubtful and while he won’t play against the Titans, that is an encouraging sign.

Fullback Will Johnson (hamstring) is surprisingly listed as probable after being limited for a third straight day. Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, however, reported Friday on Twitter that Johnson said he did not participate in team drills this week in practice and that he was limited to only individual and 7-on-7 drills. Johnson also told Fittipaldo that it’s Mike Tomlin‘s call as to whether or not he plays Sunday.

Rookie linebacker Jarvis Jones (chest) practiced fully again for a second straight day and is listed as probable on the injury report. He is expected to play Sunday against the Titans.

Defensive end Brett Keisel (not injury related) was added to the injury report on Friday and listed as probable.

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Still thinking we should maybe hold W.Johnson out till the Cincinnati game…

Kenneth Wilt

Encouraging news on the injury front for sure. My guess is:

WJ doesn’t play this week and maybe not even next, but should be good to go in 2 weeks.

Bell is out until after the bye week.

Heath is out until after the bye week.

Jones plays this week.

StrengthOfVictory

I’d be surprised if they brought Will Johnson into the game for anything more than as an extra blocker here and there. No receiving routes or check-down passes.

If he sees any more time than that, he may be better than we all think. In which case, they’re just giving him the benefit of all the rest they can. Clearly he showed in the preseason that he knows his job inside and out.

StrengthOfVictory

I’m going out on a limb and saying we get Bell and Heath back for Week 3 against Chicago. Just a hunch.

dgh57

Time to see what some backups are capable of doing in the form of Redman & D. Johnson as neither has played much in the preseason. Hopefully, they can at least build some confidence in us as backups.

Mkeller

I hope “Strength of Victory” is right. Love Heath but I especially want to see Le’Veon in the line-up healthy and producing. Cannot take another yr of RB by committee!

Mkeller

Not at all trying to be rude…but anyone who is still waiting to see what Redman can do needs to go check the archives. He’s a nice short yardage/goal line/situational guy but he is not an every down back or anything close to it. He’s a good guy and gives good effort but he’s limited athletically. It has to be Le’Veon ASAP or its going to be painful to watch them run.

steeltown

We don’t even know if Le’Veon can be Le’Veon, atleast not the guy most have anointed him to be, not yet anyway

We have to remember a lot of the problems in the run game start up front, those guys along the OL need to gel, quickly

dgh57

What Redman did in the past is just that yesterdays news, so I don’t need to check no archives. He put in some hard work this past off season to at least try to adapt himself to this new ZBS, so he gets the benefit of a doubt from me until he proves otherwise!

steeltown

Agreed

Shea Fahr

Agree with Steeltown. We cannot afford for Johnson to have a setback. Park him until next week.

treeher

All fine and good. We’ll have our backs back and ends tight sooner rather than later. My fingers are crossed that we don’t have injuries to the OL or it won’t matter who has the ball.

ATL96STEELER

Agreed…I don’t think you’re slighting Redman…you called like it is imo and that’s exactly why he was favored over Dwyer. I wouldn’t put it past him to have a good game this week or even next, but he doesn’t have the foot speed to be a 1000 yd RB in the NFL.

ATL96STEELER

ZBS…the teams that run it well have a RB that can cut back to daylight and hit the hole hard like Foster and Tate in HOU…Redman runs hard but if you get him going sideways he’s in trouble…just doesn’t have the lateral…I love Redman picking is hole and plowing into it, and his spin move upon contact.

charles

Jones hasn’t fumbled or been knicked up yet either. If he holds onto the ball he has a large upside. Especially in the second half as defensive pursuit slows.

joed32

I like the new 3rd down back a lot, he can run , maybe not for a whole lot of carries but he seems to find the holes. Last year it was Dwyer or Redman but there is more versatility this year when you throw in Bell and Jones.

hectorgomezg

i trully believe that we are going to be back watch out ravens, cincinati bengals, steelers are ready to rambo

dgh57

Redman has said he is a step or two quicker after losing weight and working with a speed coach. I think he has better vision than Dwyer. Tomlin must agree or he wouldn’t be at the top of the depth chart at RB. I see the glass as half full with Redman because I’m a optimist.

PA2AK

Part of Redman’s mediocrity is certainly due to the OL. If they stay healthy, the run game improves…remember those couple weeks when they were healthy last year? Dwyer and Redman both had 100 yard games. Not saying it will turn Red into a pro bowler, but that line has more to do with our run game success than which RB on the roster starts this year, IMO.

ATL96STEELER

Dwyer/Redman…jmo, once Bell was drafted, I think the role for either of these guys was going to be short yardage, GL, spelling the young RB. Redman fit that role better in Tomlin’s eyes. I agree with Tomlin’s choice.

I’m a realist, in the NFL there are late bloomers…but not so much the RB position. You are what you are after 3 yrs. Turner played behind LT in SD for several years before he got his shot in ATL, but the impact was immediate once he did.

The positive here is Redman, Bell, Jones, LSH is probably the deepest in terms of speed and power the position has been in a long time. It’s on the OL to mature as unit and I think the running game will be much better this yr.

dgh57

I agree that the OL has to stay healthy and perform as the whole team will benefit because of it. Come Sunday all will be healthy but the OL hasn’t had time to gel as a unit and how much of the ZBS they will run or how Redman will fair behind it is a unknown.

dgh57

To me Redman getting 110 carries in sporadic opportunities each of the last 2 years is hardly enough carries to define what he can and can’t do. We only have what Redman did in a Power Scheme running behind a average OL that was playing musical chairs because of injuries last year. This is a new year, a new ZBS that will take time to implement, and among other things a OL that needs to stay healthy. So who knows what Redman can do if given a better situation to perform in.